Holding On
by orientalsoup
Summary: AU. After the curse is broken, Storybrooke healed and rebuilt, and the Savior had a daughter and managed her own happily ever after. However, it's not quite your typical happy ending. Life—real life—can't be that simple. Many years have passed and now it's time for the Savior's daughter to have her own adventures in this messy thing we call life.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note** : This fanfiction was started long ago during season 2, and I recently decided to pick it back up and hopefully finish it! Therefore, it is totally AU after Season 1 but incorporates some things we learned from Season 2. I hope you all enjoy! Please let me know what you think in the reviews!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Alexi holds the cigarette up to his lips and takes a long drag. Blowing out smoke, he taps the ash and it scatters in the wind.

"Where's Quinn?" Anders asks, stomping his feet and rubbing his gloved hands to keep warm.

Alexi shakes his head and takes another drag. "She knows she's our ride, right, Lina?" His green eyes peer at me over the rim of his brown, circular glasses.

"She does, but you know her. She's so easily…distracted." I grab Anders' hands and we rub them together to keep warm. Oh, Quinn. Knowing her, she'll run out of the building in about five minutes, her clothes slightly rumpled and her face flushed, giving us excuses. We all know the truth, though: she's making out with someone in an empty classroom as her three best friends practically freeze to death. Even in a town as small as ours, Quinn manages to find a new sexual escapade every few months. It's actually quite impressive, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't jealous. She's insanely beautiful and smart, so, naturally, all the guys are in love with her.

"We need to stop doing these carpool rotations," Alexi says, dropping his cigarette. Its embers die out as it gets swept away by the wind. "I can never count on Quinn to be out here on time."

"We should have just waited in the building," Anders sighs as he pulls me to his side for extra warmth. "It's so annoying how the doors lock once school is over. We should have planned better." He looks down, his blue eyes looking almost gray on this dismal, cold day. "Are you sure you can't use your magic to unlock her car?"

"You know that I don't have magic like that," I respond. "I can only help people get out of town without losing their memories."

Alexi points at the school. "There she is!"

A figure in black runs towards us, blonde hair blowing out behind her. "Sorry, sorry!" Quinn says, out of breath. She holds up her car keys, and the little black car behind us beeps. Alexi, Anders, and I throw the doors open and scramble into the car.

"Quinn! Come on!" Alexi yells at her. "Get this heater running!"

She jogs up to the car and climbs in. Once inside, she turns on the heater and seat warmers, and the boys and I sigh happily, sinking into the leather. Quinn tosses her backpack into the back seat, and it hits Anders' leg.

"Ow!" he yelps. "What the hell is in this thing?"

She drives off the school property and says, "I have three tests tomorrow: APUSH, Law and Society, and AP English. I have a lot of work ahead of me tonight. But let me tell you...Nate Rose has the biggest—"

"No!" Alexi interjects.

The boys groan, and I turn around in the passenger seat to smirk at them. "Come on," Anders complains. "Alexi and I don't need to know that! He's in my gym class and he has the locker right next to mine!"

In the rearview mirror, I notice Quinn roll her chocolate brown eyes. "But you're my best friends! We're supposed to talk about this sort of stuff."

"No," Alexi says, twirling a new cigarette between his index and middle fingers. "That's what Lina's for."

"Sure, but you guys are our friends, too," I say, "and we listen to you when you talk about girls." I turn around. "Also, Alexi, toss the cigarette. Come on. We're taking you home, and if your dad sees you smoking on the driveway again, he's going to murder you."

"And no smoking in my car," Quinn says. "The last time you did that, it stunk up my car, and my dad thought it was my fault! He was _so_ pissed."

"Oh how scandalous!" Anders says dramatically. He puts a hand to his forehead. "The mayor's daughter smokes!"

"Don't even joke about that," Quinn says. "You know that's how he is."

Alexi sighs and says, "Fine, fine." He puts the cigarette back in its box. "I should probably quit anyway."

"You always say that," Anders says, elbowing him. "But does it happen? No."

"Don't criticize me if you do it too, okay?"

Anders smiles sheepishly.

"This is your stop, Alexi," Quinn says as she pulls up to his house.

He slides out of the car. "See you guys tomorrow." He salutes then walks up his driveway.

Quinn drives around the neighborhood to Anders' house. "And here's your stop, Anders," she says as she parks the car.

"Thanks, Quinnie," he says as he climbs out.

I notice a purple light coming from a window on the second floor. "Looks like my parents are home," Anders says with a smile.

"Didn't you say your dad's taking you out on the boat today?" Quinn asks.

He nods. "Yeah. I need to learn about my people or whatever." He shrugs but is still grinning. "Hey, at least I get to learn how to sail!" He taps the top of the car twice and starts to walk towards his house.

"Bon voyage, Prince Anders!" I say as Quinn drives away.

"I wonder what it's like to be royalty," Quinn sighs dreamily.

I shake my head at her. "It's not what you think."

"Oh come on! One day, you could be a queen!"

"I sure hope not," I respond with a snort.

She laughs. "My best friend, the Queen!" I gag loudly. "But seriously, it's so fascinating to me. You have all these people that you get learn about and work hard for. You have to be wise but also down to earth. It's such a balancing act. Not to mention, the dresses you get to wear!"

"Look, it may sound great to you since you want to be a lawyer and be in politics and all, but to me, it's just...part of my life. I grew up with that and it is what it is." I shrug.

"Oh, Lina," she says as she parks in front of my house, "you don't know how cool your life is."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note** : As a reminder, this fanfiction is totally AU after Season 1 but incorporates some things we learned from Season 2. What happened after the events in Season 1 will be explained! I hope you all enjoy! Please let me know what you think in the reviews!

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"Hey, Dad."

Startled, he hastily shoves his cigarette into the ash tray on the sill and closes the window. "Hey," he says, pulling me into a hug. He smells like smoke and wood, which is a comfort. Sitting down at the kitchen table, he gestures to the chair next to him. "How was school?"

"It was good," I say as I sit. "I aced the paper that you helped me with."

He beams, his blue eyes sparkling with pride. "That's awesome, kid!" Standing up, he says, "I ordered from Chien Po's for lunch, and I have an extra egg roll. You want it now?"

"Of course!" I say. He winks at me and takes the egg roll out of the fridge. "How's the book coming along?"

"Nearly finished," he replies. "Ashe is finally dead."

"Aw, I really liked him." My heart hurts. Although I know better than to get attached to my father's book characters, I can't help myself sometimes.

"You know me," he says as he takes the egg roll out of the microwave, "I always kill the best ones." He puts the food in front of me, and I take a good whiff and sigh happily. It smells divine, like pork and salt and cabbage.

"Why do you do that to your readers, Dad?" I ask as I take a bite.

He smirks. "It's important to the plot."

"You know that's garbage. I think all writers love putting their readers through emotional turmoil."

"That too." He leans back in his chair across from me. "So, what are your plans for tonight?"

"A little studying, and I have some AP Comp Sci problems to work through," I respond as I finish off the egg roll. "Why?"

"Jane and Henry are inviting us over for dinner."

I get up to wash the plate. "Just us or the whole family?"

"I didn't ask," he says, picking a piece of lint off his grey sweater. "Henry seemed very rushed on the phone. Ever since that TV show took off, he's always busy. Whether or not it's everyone, it'll be nice."

"He should just know to tell us though," I say as I scrub the plate with a sponge. "I need to mentally prepare myself."

"You act like the family is hard to deal with," he replies.

I look at him and raise an eyebrow. "Can you blame me?"

He folds his hands on the table and leans forward. "What are you talking about?"

"Our family's so complicated!" I say, putting the plate on the drying rack. "There's Neal and his parents, Mom and hers, you and yours. Then Jane and her family. Peter always finds a way in there, since he's best friends with Henry and Jane. And something bad usually happens when we're all together."

The last time my whole family was together, all the adults got really drunk and started fighting. It was awful; magic was involved. We rang in the new year with sticky hair (from spilt alcohol), smashed champagne glasses, newly sharpened swords, and singed clothing. The singed clothing was due to Neal's father setting the tree on fire in a drunken stupor. Grandpa David made a jab at Rumplestiltskin's poor fathering skills, and the latter "accidentally" wielded a fire ball and threw it at him. Grandpa jumped out of the way, but it ended up hitting the Christmas tree instead and started spreading through the living room. Luckily, Henry put it out and cleaned up the damage, but the adults were already at each other's throats.

"Your grandfather shouldn't have said that, though," my dad says, frowning. "Parenting is a touchy subject for—"

"Everyone in our whole family?" I finish as I sit back down.

He looks at me sadly. "Yes. With the curse disrupting our childhoods and Rumplestiltskin being the Dark One and Neal's, Emma's, and my...complicated relationship, parenting isn't exactly our forte."

I offer him a smile and pat his arm. "You do a good job."

He smiles back. "Thanks, kid."

After my mom and Henry broke the curse back in 2010, my father was saved from turning back into a puppet. She and he were finally able to have some little slice of a happily ever after: they had fallen in love working on Henry's Operation Cobra together, and since the curse had been broken and they had put the Evil Queen in jail, they could be together. Soon after, my mom found out she was pregnant with me. However, while she was pregnant, Rumplestiltskin sent my mom off on a mission to find his son, Neal. Their reunion brought back old emotions and Neal found out about Henry, so he returned to Storybrooke with Mom, Henry, and Rumplestiltskin. This caused a lot of tension amongst Mom, Dad, and Neal since they all knew each other rather well but Dad and Neal had feelings for Mom and Mom had feelings for both of them. When I was born, they all agreed that as a team they would co-parent Henry and me and that they would all remain friends. Henry and I were raised bouncing amongst their houses and our grandparents' homes in the Enchanted Forest as well. However, my father had primary custody of me, so I grew up mostly with him.

Now, Dad squeezes my knee, stands, then kisses my forehead. "I'm going to finish up the chapter I'm working on. Henry and Jane are expecting us at six, okay? Love you."

"I love you, too."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading this far! As a reminder, everything in this fic is AU after Season 1. As you'll see in this chapter, I took a lot of some creative liberties with OUAT's version of Peter Pan. I hope you enjoy! If you like this, let me know in the reviews! If you don't, let me know that too! I will happily take any constructive criticism!

(Also sorry not sorry about this chapter being longer than the previous ones.)

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

As I climb up the stairs of Henry's building, I can hear acoustic music coming from their apartment.

I turn to my dad. "It's a huge family gathering. They're playing music while they wait for everyone to arrive."

"Come on, it'll be good to see everyone." He knocks on their door.

Jane throws the door open, and the smell of chicken and pasta and tomatoes fills the landing. She beams at us, her blue eyes bright. Her reddish brown hair is curled and pinned back, and she's wearing a baby blue dress and nude pumps. She excitedly pulls me into a hug.

"I'm so happy to see you!" she says, giving me a good squeeze.

"You too, Jane," I say with a smile. She's one of my favorite people, all sweetness and wit. "I feel a bit underdressed," I say, eyeing her outfit. I'm merely dressed in dark wash jeans, a flowy white blouse, my black leather jacket, and black heeled boots.

"No, you look gorgeous as always," she says as she grabs my hands and pulls me inside. "Come in, come in." She hugs my dad. "Always good to see you, August."

He kisses her cheek. "You too, Jane." He holds up the two bottles he brought. "Red or white?"

"August, you shouldn't have," Henry says. He joins us from the kitchen and wraps his arm around Jane's waist. Also dressed rather formally, Henry's brown hair is slicked back, and he's wearing a blue button-up shirt and tan slacks.

"You two prepared dinner; I had to bring something," my dad replies, still holding out the bottles.

"No, seriously," Henry says, lowering his voice, "you should _not_ have."

Shaking my head, I walk over to the coat closet while shrugging off my jacket. "I told you, Dad."

"I'll take them anyway. It's just two bottles and there's so many of us," Jane says, bringing them to the kitchen. I shoot my father a "told you so" look.

He looks away. "Where's Moira?" he asks, draping his coat over the back of a chair in the dining area.

"Mommy!" Moira, Henry and Jane's daughter, comes down the stairs with her long, golden brown hair flowing out behind her. "Mommy," she holds out a navy blue ribbon, "can you tie this for me? I tried but I can't."

"Sure, sweetie," Jane says as she gathers Moira's beautiful hair in her hand. She slips the ribbon under her daughter's hair and ties it up into a headband with a pretty bow on the side of Moira's head. Jane then bends down and smoothes her daughter's blue and white polka dot dress. "There you go, darling. You're as pretty as a princess." She presses her lips against Moira's forehead.

Moira turns around and runs towards me with outstretched arms. Before she barrels into me, I pick her up into a big hug. Little Moira Cassidy is hands down my favorite family member; she is absolutely innocent. Granted, she's five, but she's already so sweet and strong-willed like her mom and we all love her. She knows how to keep peace within our family; I think the whole New Years mishap happened because she wasn't there. I'm just relieved she was born because I sure wasn't helping keep the peace. There's already so much tension in my family and the confusion of the co-parenting was the cause of extra fighting and distress among my grandparents. Though Henry and Jane aren't married, Moira is the most "normal" out of all of us so that really helps everyone get along. She's purely human—no magic, no weird birth story, nothing. Henry and Jane simply got pregnant while they were finishing college and decided to keep her and raise her together while strengthening their own relationship.

I put Moira down and smooth her dress. "Don't you look pretty!"

She leans in and whispers, "Momma told me to dress nice. She said it's a 'special occasion.' I don't know what's the occasion though."

I run my hands over my jeans. "I wish your mom told me to dress nice for the special occasion."

"No, Aunt Lina, you already look so pretty!" she says with a big smile.

"Aw, thanks, love," I say, tapping her nose.

"Moira," Dad says, sitting down on one of the tall chairs at the island table, "I have a surprise for you!"

Her face lights up and, with my dad's help, she excitedly climbs onto the chair beside him. "What is it, Grandpa? What is it?" She bounces up and down in her seat. Dad reaches into his pocket and pulls out a tiny wooden swan. Eyes wide in awe, Moira gasps and takes it. "Grandpa, it's so pretty!"

"Moira, what do you say?" Jane prompts.

"Thank you!" she says with a big grin on her face.

Jane looks up at my dad and smiles. "Thank you, August. It really is beautiful."

"You're killing the grandfather game, August," Henry says with a grin.

Dad smirks. "Was there ever any doubt?"

There's a knock on the door and my brother heads towards it. Opening it, he steps to the side to allow my mother and her parents to walk through.

"It smells lovely!" my grandmother says, handing off a bottle of wine to Jane and shrugging off her coat.

My grandfather takes his and my grandmother's coats to the closet. "What's cooking, Jane?"

"Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti," she replies, preparing a bucket of ice for the three bottles of wine. "August gave me Gepetto's special recipe. It's phenomenal."

"It really is," my dad says. "It's all in the sauce, honestly."

My mom walks over to me and gives me a big hug. She smells like gun powder, pine, and perfume. "How're you, kid?" she asks as she pulls away.

"Good," I reply.

"How did your criminal justice test on Monday go?"

I smile. "Got an A, obviously. You helped a ton."

"I do what I can," she says, pretending to blow smoke off her finger gun. Turning towards my dad, she beams and leans in to kiss him. I hide my excited smile behind a feigned cough.

"August," she says, her hand lingering on his cheek.

"Princess," he replies, placing his hand over hers and bowing his head slightly.

She elbows him. "Cut it out, Booth."

He laughs, his face transforming into a more youthful, playful one. "I can't, Princess. You know I live to irk."

"Ain't that the truth," I say. Dad shoots me a look and I grin back at him.

She sits on the chair next to his and leans in towards him as she speaks. "I read the chapter you sent me earlier, and I'm so distraught over Ashe."

"ME TOO, MOM," Henry yells suddenly, whipping around to face us. "ME TOO."

"Henry, we're inside!" Jane whispers.

"I'm very upset about this!" he exclaims.

As my parents continue talking, Jane places her hand above Henry's elbow and runs it down his arm until their fingers intertwine. She shushes him, and his shoulders relax. There's a knock on the door again. "Go answer the door," she tells him. "I'll start putting out the food."

"Jane, do you need any help?" Grandma Snow asks.

Jane tucks a piece of hair that had gotten loose from her bun. "Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you." The two of them huddle over the stove and Jane begins instructing my grandmother.

"Hello!" Mrs. Barrie, Jane's mother, walks in with Mr. Barrie and Jane's brother Danny close behind. Mr. Barrie takes his wife and son's coats and goes to put them in the closet.

"Hi, Mum!" Jane exclaims. "Hi, Dad! Sorry, just trying to set up the first course!"

"I can help," Mrs. Barrie says.

"Oh, Mum, you're wearing a lovely white blouse though; I don't want the sauce and meats to stain it."

Mrs. Barrie shakes her head, her short, curly reddish brown hair bouncing around her jawline. Putting on an apron, she asks, "How can I help?" Jane, with a sigh of resignation, tells her mother what to do.

"Hello, hello!" An elvish-looking face peeks into the apartment. Peter Pan runs his fingers through his slicked-back brown hair and puts on his signature smirk. Strolling into the room, he says, "How is everyone tonight? Jane, you look lovely as always."

These days, Peter Pan has been growing up. He's about Neal's age, but physically the same age as Jane and Henry. When they were thirteen, Henry and Jane sort of ran off to Neverland, but Neal went after them and brought them home. When Peter saw how one of his former Lost Boys turned out, he was curious in this whole "growing up thing." Neal offered to let him come to Storybrooke, and he did. He now writes for a local, but popular, television show with Henry, and the two of them, along with Jane, are still best friends to this day. Whenever there's a family event, there's a 99.9% chance he's crashing it.

"Peter!" Moira exclaims, leaping into his arms.

Laughing, Peter says, "You're just as darling as your mother and grandmother, little Darling. You're lucky you don't look anything like your father."

"Hey now," Henry says, taking Moira from Peter. "How are you, man? It feels like I haven't seen you in ages!"

Peter places his hand against his temple. "Wow, how long has it been?" he asks dramatically.

Shaking his head, Henry says, "Goodness... Two...maybe three hours?" The two laugh.

"Daddy, let me go," Moira says. "I want to play with Grampas."

Grandpa David nods at my dad and Mr. Barrie. "You heard the little lady."

The two rise from their seats and go over to the living room where Moira has set up her dolls. She says, "There's a ball tonight and my dolls need handsome dates!"

"She didn't pick you because you're not handsome," Henry says, elbowing Peter. Danny snickers as he walks past to go chat with Grandpa David.

Peter rolls his eyes. "Nah, she just knows that I'm too good for them." He strolls over to me. "Hello, Baby Booth. How have you been?"

"All right," I reply, my voice slightly hostile. "You?"

"Never better, Baby Booth. Never better." He turns to my mom. "And you, Ms. Swan? The town's been quite peaceful recently, all thanks to you, obviously."

Mom waves her hand, as if shooing away his overly charming behavior. "It hasn't been too hectic. How's the search for the new lead writer going?"

Henry joins us. "We try not to talk about it when we're together."

Peter nods gravely, setting his charisma aside. "Yeah, since we're both trying to get the position, we don't want it to ruin our friendship, so we don't talk about it."

"That's surprisingly mature of you, Peter," I tease.

"It was my idea, obviously," Henry says with a smirk.

"Obviously," I reply, smiling back.

"Ah, shut it, you two," Peter groans. "Daniel, m'boy," he says, turning to face the youngest Barrie, "I can be mature, can't I?"

Danny puts on a very fake serious face. "Oh yes, of course, Peter," he says sarcastically. "Absolutely."

Peter's face crumples. "I feel so unwelcome."

Henry wraps an arm around his best friend. "It's Jane's and my apartment, and we say you're welcome here."

"That's your first mistake," Danny teases.

There's another knock on the door. Henry excuses himself to answer it, and my mom, also excusing herself, moves to join in on her father and Danny's lively discussion about the best battle weapons.

Lifting myself onto the chair, I stare Peter down in hopes that he'll leave. Instead, he stares right back at me, his green eyes locked on my blue ones. I look down at my shoes and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. He leans against the back of my chair a little to much, which makes it swivel into the table. Wood smacks against wood with a sharp whack! Startled, I clutch the seat.

His green eyes widen. "Sorry!" he says. He swivels my seat back into its original position. "Are you okay?"

I nod and move my hands up to rest on my thighs. "Yeah, you just surprised me," I reply.

Putting a hand on the back of his neck, he apologizes once more.

"Lina!" Neal approaches me and engulfs me in a big hug. "I haven't seen you in a while, kid! How're you?" He presses a kiss to my temple.

Out of the corner of my eye, Peter shoots me a smile and a wink then saunters over to the front door where Henry is talking to his grandparents and my nonno Gepetto. Peter slips into their conversation easily and makes them all laugh.

I look up at Neal. "Things have been pretty okay," I say.

"How's your drawing?" he asks, sitting next to me. He scratches the stubble on his left cheek and leaves behind a gray smudge.

"Neal..." I point at my own cheek.

"Huh?" Looking down at his graphite-stained fingers, he chuckles. "Shit, I've been sketching designs all day." He turns around and grabs a napkin from the island table. He proceeds to wipe off the dirt. "The mayor wants to redesign the library, so he asked me to draw up the plans."

I grin. "That's so exciting! What do you have in mind?"

Smiling, he looks up at the ceiling. "For the most part, I'm following what Mayor Schubert wants, but I bet there's a few things I hope to get away with. I definitely want to build a second floor that looks over the first floor. It'll be mostly reading rooms and couches."

"That would be really lovely," I say. "I can't wait to see your designs."

"Hey," he says, "if you want to get some experience, you're welcome to come and help."

"Oh," I say, my muscles tensing slightly. I grab at my chair. "That sounds great, thank you, but...I don't know if I have the time..."

His eyebrows furrow. "Lina, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," I say much too quickly.

"Honey," he says, squeezing my arm and kindly narrowing his eyes at me, "you know you can talk to me, okay?"

I nod. "Yeah. I know," I whisper. I look up at him, my eyes begging with him. "Can we talk another time, please? Not now when the whole family's here. And...you can't tell anyone. Especially not my mom and dad."

"Of course, kid," he says. "Whatever you need, okay? I'm your dad, too, you know."

I hug him. "I know. Thanks, Neal. I really appreciate it."

Jane taps her spoon against a glass of water, calling everyone to attention. As I turn towards her, I quickly scan the crowd. I notice that almost all the adults in the room have a wine glass. "Hi, everyone," she says, beaming. "Henry and I are so glad you all could join us for dinner tonight." She turns to Henry and nods.

Wrapping his arm around her, he says, "Before we eat, we wanted to share some news with you all." As he speaks, I can tell he's trying not to smile and give away the surprise, but he's too happy. He's practically jumping up and down with excitement. He turns to Jane. "Honey, I think you should tell them."

"WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!" she exclaims, holding out an opened jewelry box that she had been hiding behind her back. Inside, a silver ring with a simple yet hefty looking diamond sparkles, and she slides it onto her finger. She starts laughing and jumping up and down as the family swarms towards them.

The room bursts into excited chatter, and I watch from my place at the island table. My grandparents swoon over the ring and congratulate Henry and Jane. My mom looks like she's on the verge of tears, and she's hugging both of them. My dad holds up one of the bottles of wine and demands another round of drinks to celebrate. Neal takes the bottle and begins pouring his own drink. Danny fights through the crowd and sits next to me.

"They're already drunk, aren't they?" he asks.

"Just about," I reply. I bump my arm against his and smile at him. "Welcome to the family."


End file.
